700 sign petition to block Wednesfield boundary move
More than 700 people have signed a petition against plans to move parts of Wednesfield into a new political area called Walsall West.
Local councillors and a MP set up a street stall to encourage people to protest against the proposals that have been drawn up by the Boundary Commission. Wolverhampton North East MP Emma Reynolds, former MP Ken Purchase and Wednesfield North councillor Phil Bateman all manned the stall set up in Wednesfield High Street.
Miss Reynolds said: "People are up in arms about the idea of moving the council wards of Wednesfield North and Wednesfield South into a new parliamentary constituency of Walsall West.
"The response that we got from the public should leave the Boundary Commission in no doubt that local residents are opposed to these plans. We will continue to collect signatures for the petition and submit them to the Commission."
Councillor Bateman added: "Over 700 local residents signed the petition. It is clear that they want to keep Wednesfield together and to remain part of Wolverhampton.
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"Both Emma and I have received a lot of objections to these proposals as people, like me, believe that Wednesfield is more than the wards of Wednesfield North and South and that it stretches into parts of Heath Town and Fallings Park.
"I firmly believe that the residents of Wednesfield just do not want to be propelled by the Boundary Commission into Walsall West where we have no links whatsoever. The reaction to the petition bears this out."
The Black Country would lose two MPs – one each from Wolverhampton and Sandwell – under the revised plans to change the boundaries in a bid to reduce the number of MPs.
The proposal is to carve up the Wolverhampton North East seat of Miss Reynolds in to three different segments with two parts being shared by the two remaining Wolverhampton seats and Wednesfield moving to the new Walsall West constituency.
